
Madagascar’s embattled President Andry Rajoelina said Monday he was sheltering in a “safe place” after an assassination attempt and coup plot.
In a live Facebook address, his first appearance since late September, Rajoelina claimed mutinous soldiers and politicians had conspired to kill him. He said he was forced to take refuge but did not reveal his location.
The unrest began over severe power and water shortages in the Indian Ocean nation but quickly evolved into mass demonstrations demanding Rajoelina’s resignation. Young protesters filled Antananarivo’s streets, accusing the president of neglecting citizens’ suffering.
“I am on a mission to find solutions,” Rajoelina said, urging respect for the constitution while rejecting calls to step down. His speech, twice delayed after armed forces attempted to seize the state broadcaster, ended speculation that he had fled abroad.
Radio France Internationale reported he left on a French military plane, but French officials and President Emmanuel Macron declined to confirm. Rajoelina, a former mayor of Antananarivo, first came to power in 2009 after a coup that ousted Marc Ravalomanana.
Earlier Monday, mutinous soldiers and police joined cheering crowds in front of city hall, signalling defiance of government orders. Units involved in the 2009 coup pledged not to open fire on demonstrators, while paramilitary police admitted to “excesses” in recent crackdowns.
The United Nations reported at least 22 deaths since the protests began, though Rajoelina disputed the toll, claiming 12 people—all looters—were killed.
To ease tensions, he pardoned eight prisoners, including Franco-Malagasy Paul Maillot Rafanoharana, jailed in 2021 for an attempted coup.
The African Union urged the military to respect constitutional order as Madagascar faces its gravest political crisis in over a decade.